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• Shrill, noisy devices installed in Perth underpass
• The technology deters people who are homeless 
• But it has been condemned by Australians

Aussies have erupted over a device that blasts loud, piercing noises to dissuade homeless people from camping under a bridge.

Perth Council had the technology set up at the Lord Street Bridge underpass near a train line in East Perth over the weekend.

The device emits a shrill, buzzing sound at a pitch that is designed to be uncomfortable for people’s ears.

It is understood the device was then turned off by Tuesday morning.

Jesse Noakes, who runs the independent media publication The Last Place on Earth, shared a recording of the irritating noise.

‘It’s really piercing. It’s almost painful, and that’s the whole idea,’ he said, fingers in his ears. 

‘[Council] want it to be painful for people who are thinking of coming and rolling out a sleeping bag, or chucking a tent on the side of this bike path.

‘That is an audible anti-homeless device. Hostile architecture, built in. 

‘What they’ve done is install some kind of device that is emitting a high-pitched buzzing noise, a shriek.’

Hostile architecture – also referred to as anti-homeless design – is the adaptation of public spaces to deter people from loitering or sleeping.

This can include spikes in doorways, dividers on benches or sloped seats to stop someone from lying down.

Social media users were quick to condemn the devices, highlighting it would be distressing for animals as well as people.

‘That is a disgusting thing for the council to do,’ one said. 

Another said: ‘How about they spend money on actually helping the homeless.’

A third added: ‘In their effort to prevent homeless people from sleeping rough in certain places, they’ve made it hostile to all people. 

‘What about native animals in the area? Are they damaged too? It’s cruel.’

According to Matthew Swain, who has been sleeping rough for two years, he has heard the noise in several areas of Perth.

‘It’s definitely really loud under the underpass,’ he told 7News.

‘I don’t go and stay there because I don’t like encroaching on other people’s spots, and that’s like a known spot for, you know, some crew.’ 

‘I couldn’t stay there with that noise and like where I went to stay last night and was setting up in one of the car parks, one of the Wilson’s car parks, I noticed the noise, not quite at that level, but yeah, had to leave pretty much straight away.’

Daily Mail contacted Perth Council for comment.

The Public Transport Authority (PTA), which manages the sound devices, has confirmed the sounds are no longer being emitted.

‘The City of Perth requested the installation of a noise device at the Lord Street underpass,’ a spokesperson told the Daily Mail.

‘The noise device has been turned off. We will be asking the City of Perth to determine a more suitable way forward.’

The council has previously said the device was part of a ‘broad safety approach’ after ‘ongoing reports of antisocial and criminal behaviour and community concerns about safety in the area’.

‘The City’s focus remains on improving safety and amenity for all users of the area,’ the spokesman told news.com.au.

‘This includes increased security patrols, the installation of CCTV and the deployment of mobile CCTV trailers to support safer access and use of the underpass.’

This is not the first time WA has seen a controversial use of loud sounds to deter homeless people.

In 2023, the City of Bunbury played The Wiggles’ Hot Potato on loop at the Graham Bricknell Music Shell outdoor stage in the town centre, south of Perth.

But that was switched off after the Wiggles intervened, saying the music was created to bring joy to children.

The band said it was disappointed to hear it was being used for another purpose.

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What you need to know

• Google’s I/O 2026 teaser is live, and users can begin playing with its puzzles to reveal the event’s date.
• There are five puzzles: Hole in One, Nonogram, Word Wheel, Supersonic Bot, and Stretchy Cat, which all leverage Gemini 3 in one way or another.
• Google’s 2025 event puzzle had “Prism Shift,” and users quickly sped through that, revealing the date in just a day.

Update

(Update: 2/17 4:08 pm ET): The date’s been revealed, as users rushed to complete the puzzles Google set up for its I/O 2026 event. Users can expect the event to take place on May 19-20. The company posted its official announcement, too, stating the event will be hosted at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.

Google teases that consumers will get insights into Gemini, Android, and more.

The original article can be read below.

Google is already dropping its preparations for its I/O 2026 conference in mid-February, as a set of puzzles is here, asking the user to help reveal the date.

This morning (Feb 17), Google published its official I/O 2026 page, which, for right now, is all about puzzles before the finish line. The company leads with the tagline: “Make, Build, Unlock,” to start hyping up users. Google says users must “play through all builds to unlock the final bonus. Every play gets you closer to unlocking the Google I/O date.” This is pretty standard business around here for Google, so there’s nothing crazy (yet).

After getting started, users are taken to the five puzzles/games they’ll have to play to reveal the I/O date this year.

The five games are: Hole in One, Nonogram (endless board games), Word Wheel, Supersonic Bot (your mic controls the bot’s altitude), and Stretchy Cat. While the first game is pretty self-explanatory, Google explains that every game leverages Gemini’s AI capabilities in one way or another.

For Word Wheel, Gemini 3 comes in to “automate level design, ensuring every puzzle is balanced and enjoyable.” The AI’s presence in Stretchy Cat is similar; however, it also adds an “endless” mode similar to Nonogram. At the time of writing, the community has just passed the first node in the progress bar. In short, we’re one-fourth of the way to revealing the I/O 2026 conference date.

Work your brain, find the date

Google tries to mix up its games every year, and sometimes the puzzles are relatively tame. Last year, around this time in February, Google dropped its “Prism Shift” game for users to play to reveal the 2025 event date. As its name kind of suggests, users were required to shift around mirrors and nodes to bounce light beams and connect each section. “All nodes” needed to be lit in order to progress.

It was a nice game that really had you focusing on ensuring the lights bounced properly to light everything up. Funny thing is, this game might’ve been too easy for users, as they finished it and revealed the date in a day. I/O 2025 was set for May 20 and 21. Perhaps, we’re looking at a similar timeline this year, too, as Google usually holds its conference in May.

Android Central’s Take

I’m not one to brag, but I got a hole in one my first try (let’s not mention that it was the first course, okay?). These puzzles are always nice to play around with. This year, there’s a lot of emphasis on Gemini, specifically Gemini 3. Google seems really proud of its latest AI model and is touting its advancements with these games, as well as a “Remix” option on its I/O 2026 page. We’re probably in for a truckload of AI and Gemini during I/O 2026 this year, and maybe even some Pixel teasers, too. Better buckle up.

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AMD’s next-generation Instinct MI455X may face delays in production and adoption by end-users, according to a report by SemiAnalysis, a claim that AMD was quick to deny.

By contrast, Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform for AI data centers may show up on the market earlier than anticipated (according to Evercore, via @halfblindmonkey) as silicon is already in mass production. The company must finalize its AI server and NVL72 VR200 rack-scale solution design and qualify it with customers soon to start volume shipments in order to meet its aggressive claims of platform readiness at CES this year.

“Engineering samples and low volume production of AMD’s first rack scale MI455X UALoE72 system will be in H2 2026 while due to manufacturing delays, the mass production ramp and first production tokens will only be generated on an MI455X UALoE72 by Q2 2027,” the report by SemiAnalysis reads.

“Well, your assessment is still wrong,” wrote Anush Elangovan, corporate vice president of AMD’s software development, in an X post. “On target for 2H 2026.”

AMD’s Helios rack-scale solutions for AI pack 72 Instinct MI455X AI accelerators with 31 TB of HBM4 memory that are designed to deliver 2.9 FP4 exaFLOPS for AI inference and 1.4 FP8 exaFLOPS for AI training. Initially, it was expected that AMD’s first rack-scale AI system will use UALink interconnections for scale-up connectivity to maximize performance. However, it looks like at least initial Helios machines will not use UALink, but UALink over Ethernet, which means lower performance.

We do not know whether UALink is to blame for the reported delay, but Astera Labs, a leading developer of connectivity solutions, recently confirmed that UALink-based platforms would ramp in 2027, not in 2026.

 ”Solid traction continues to develop with respect to UALink with a vibrant ecosystem, including product announcements, broad IP availability, and compliance methodologies being finalized,” said Jitendra Mohan, chief executive of Astera Labs, during the company’s conference call with financial analysts and investors. “Recent public roadmap announcements from AWS and AMD along with other ongoing engagements indicate a broad adoption. UALink remains the highest performance and lowest latency fully open solution for AI scale up connectivity, and we will be ready to intercept the initial customer platform ramps in 2027.”

Meanwhile, if Evercore ISI analyst Mark Lipacis is to be believed, Nvidia may be on-track to release its NVL72 VR200 platform as early as in Q2 2026, three to six months ahead of the schedule. Keeping in mind that Jensen Huang said that the Vera Rubin platform was in production as of early January, it is well possible that some of Nvidia’s closest customers can get the new AI platform earlier than expected.

“Some believe that China ban has enabled Nvidia to leverage suppliers that have typically served China to work on worldwide product development, enabling Rubin to be 3 – 6 months ahead of schedule,” an Evercore note for clients reads. “Some would not be surprised if Rubin shipments happen by end of Q2 2026. Hyperscalers note that Vera CPU, Rubin GPU [are] already in fabrication and running test/validation.”

If Nvidia manages to speed up the arrival of NVL72 VR200 platform, whereas AMD delays volume ramp of its Helios rack-scale solution, then the former will strengthen its leadership on the AI market for the next year as developers of frontier AI models will continue to rely on Nvidia’s hardware.

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Palantir announced on Tuesday that it has moved its headquarters to Miami from Denver. The data analytics company, criticized for its role in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, joins a host of other businesses and billionaires that recently moved to Florida in search of a more business-friendly climate.

Palantir’s move across state lines comes after its chair, Peter Thiel, announced on 31 December that he opened a Miami office for his private investment firm. Thiel already has a mansion in Miami Beach. The company, previously headquartered in Palo Alto, announced the move on X but did not provide further details or respond to a request for comment. Palantir’s stay in Colorado lasted about six years; the company exited California in August 2020 – with its CEO, Alex Karp, citing disagreements with the state’s values.

Palantir’s Denver office has frequently been the site of protest, as the company faces heated criticism for its involvement in the Trump administration’s push to deport immigrants. Tools and platforms built by Palantir have been used by the federal government in efforts to surveil and detain immigrants. The company has also inked a major contract with the UK’s National Health Service.

Colorado’s immigration and tech activists view Palantir’s departure as a result of their sustained organizing. Juan Sebastian Pinto, a former Palantir employee and organizer for AI regulation in Denver, said that a coalition of unions and grassroots organizations, including Denver Anti-War Action, held a few dozen town halls, strikes and protests that mounted pressure on Palantir’s presence in the city. Pinto also said that Palantir may have been dissuaded by Colorado’s state lawmakers taking the lead on AI regulation with proposals to limit surveillance and discrimination.

“Colorado has rejected the values of Palantir – the values of an economy built on exploitation of people’s data, whether it’s for warfare or for immigration enforcement,” Pinto said.

Many of California’s wealthiest billionaires seem to be considering a move to Florida – spooked by the state’s consideration of a billionaire tax. There has also been a concerted effort by the business leaders Ken Griffin and Stephen Ross to convince billionaires to move to south Florida and to bring their businesses with them.

Palantir has tried to distance itself from Trump’s immigration apparatus, but that has not quelled protest. Some of the company’s employees appear to be disturbed, too. Karp recorded a video about Palantir’s involvement with ICE for staff and said they could sign NDAs if they wanted more details, according to Wired.

James Fishback, a Republican candidate for Florida governor, wrote on X in response to Palantir’s move, saying he would ban Palantir from all government contracts if elected. “You are a threat to our civil liberties,” Fishback wrote. He had voiced the same position last month. Fishback’s commitment comes amid increasing pressure on lawmakers to evaluate their relationship with Palantir. The nationwide campaign Purge Palantir has been documenting politicians who received funds from the company’s executives and pressuring them not to accept their donations. The campaign has had some success so far. The Colorado Sun reported that the Colorado representative Jason Crow and Colorado senator John Hickenlooper planned to donate more than $50,000 each, in campaign contributions from Palantir, to immigrant rights groups.

Palantir blew past Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter of 2025 and reported 66% year-over-year growth in revenue from government contracts, to $570m. Its stock, however, has sunk 20% since the start of 2026.

A brutally quick electric saloon that blends outrageous acceleration with everyday usability, though it won’t suit every buyer looking for pure driving drama

This is what happens when Tesla takes its new Model 3 and turns the power up a notch. Or several notches, in fact.

It’s the range-topper in terms of price, at £59,990 and it has some pretty eye-watering specs. There’s around 500bhp, 0-60 arrives in a frankly rather frightening 2.9 seconds, and there are plenty of tweaks to the suspension and brakes.

There are a few visual tweaks, too, but they’re less noticeable, and the big news with this car, is obviously, its power and drivability.

Because, let’s make no bones about it, it’s an EV. And it is, of course, pretty heavy.

That, however, doesn’t add up to the wallowy and unwieldy drive you might expect. It’s actually surprisingly lithe and responsive.

The seats in the Performance version are more sporty, so they hug you as you dive into the corners, and the stiffer suspension does a brilliant job of tidying up its road manners and inspiring confidence.

Handily, though, it’s also a delight to drive at a normal pace. Much has been said about the minimalism of Tesla’s interiors and I won’t labour the point, but if manufacturers really are going to insist on piling all the functionality into a main screen, I wish they’d do it as well as Tesla. It’s still the wrong way to go about things, but Tesla does make it as simple as possible.

There are a few foibles to speak of. The auto wipers are a bit clumsy, the indicators take some getting used to, and the adaptive cruise control can be a bit jittery at times.

But as a long-journey mile-muncher, it’s just so effortless. The enormity of power it has on tap makes overtakes a doddle, visibility is great, the ride is lovely, and the stereo is top-notch.

Range is compromised over some of its stablemates, with the official WLTP rating of 354 miles over the range-hero’s Long Range RWD’s 466 miles, but that’s the price you pay for having a supercar slayer that can also do a great job of lugging a family around in quiet comfort.

And it makes me think that there might be a bit of a narrow market for the Model 3 Performance. If you wanted something seriously fast, you might also want something that’s a thrill to drive, rather than just a competent corner-taker. So you might buy a Porsche Cayman, or a Lotus.

And if you wanted a family saloon car, you’d probably be more interested in saving £10,000 or more and opting for the Long Range versions, which certainly don’t embarrass themselves in a straight line, but can do at least 100 miles more per charge.

At the end of the day, the Performance’s surge from 0-60 is little more than a party piece. It’s something you’ll never tire of, but it comes at the cost of range and a little bit of ride comfort.

But then the inner hooligan in me takes back control of the purse strings, and reminds me just what a jack-of-all-trades this car really is.

It can power past Porsches in a straight line, it can get you from A-to-B in complete comfort, and it can lug your family from country to country, with all their belongings in tow, safely and serenely.

As an all-rounder, then, it’s brilliant. And something of a performance car bargain if you start to look at how much you’d have to spend to go quite so quickly in a petrol-powered car.

It might not suit everyone, but if you’re the sort that struggles to decide whether the heart or the head should win over, this might just be for you.